“Sun Arcs” by Blue Lake
A serene, soothing released fuelled by literally handmade improvisation.
Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today’s music pick is a serene, soothing work fueled by handmade improvisation.
Genre: Ambient, Experimental
Label: Tonal Union
Release Date: June 23, 2023
Vibe: 🪷
In what’s been a low-key excellent year for experimental ambient records, none functions as a relaxing sonic balm quite like Sun Arcs does. Written, produced, and performed entirely by Denmark-based American artist Jason Dungan, this is an expansive instrumental project that invites your mind to wander and, in doing so, luxuriate in the rarely-explored natural corners of your mind. The soundscape is shaped around a custom-built 48-string zither, which Dungan made himself. Folding in other elements, including guitar, clarinet, organ, and drum machines, he bolsters with the zither’s otherworldly sound (think a mellowed-out sitar) with the kind of layering and interplay you’d typically associate with free or cosmic jazz. To hear the fullness of the orchestration and know it came from a solitary man sitting in a room is remarkable.
The masterful technical approach is evident on a track like “Bloom.” It begins with a toe-tapping guitar riff that gradually starts to bend and curl around the zither’s flourishes like a cobra being coaxed by a patient snake charmer. “Rain Cycle” prefers to stretch chords as far as they can go, all while syncopated programmed drums dance atop the fertile droning. And then there’s the title track, arguably the record’s high point, a stunning zither-guitar duet that is as unrushed as the most picturesque sunrise. Clocking in at just over a half-hour, my only complaint about Sun Arcs is that there wasn’t more of it to enjoy in the same sitting. I could’ve closed my eyes and swam in its oceans for hours.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈